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E39 (1997 - 2003) The BMW 5-Series (E39 chassis) was introduced in the United States as a 1997 model year car and lasted until the 2004 when the E60 chassis was released. The United States saw several variations including the 525i, 528i, 530i and 540i. -- View the E39 Wiki

Teklord, a car's #1 purpose is to drive and be reliable.
If that's not your experience, and you're sick of it, then by all means, dump it and move on.
If my BMW starts breaking down every month, I will ditch this thing in a heartbeat.

If the car ain't reliable, none of the other crap matters.

then you should'nt have bought BMW in the first place...
if you want a car to drive and be reliable, then go toyota or honda, those will take you from point A to point B without any problems

Aspensilver540: you can only dream about driving a car like that, jealousy makes people do and say stupid and childish things. Btw that is still five time more expensive than your corroted ****ty old problematic bimma ! Just because you were once a king ( back then ) with a bmw doesnt you still are. If its a remorse of having your car and not affording any better then dont post such a bs about somebody elses car, or maybe but may be that your parents finally got 5 gees together and bought you that BigMoneyWaste and you just on this forums solving what problems others have and there are plenty in fact thats what bimmer is all about . but if you had maybe like an M5 ( lots of respect ) perhaps you you make such a statment eventhough not really because that makes you asshole as a person ! Watch out cuz INFINITI is breathing on bmw's back !!!

Typical reply as expected. There is better out there just atleast maybe try penetrating this so new info to you . Yes that is right dream !!! The problem is the bmw syndrome and closemindness that usually isnt cured , well atleast untill your ultimate driving machine brakes down. Are you one of those kids from cali driving EU plate stating "D" ?! big bavarian pimp

I'm with you aspen, HammerOnBMW why have you chosen to join the forum? Just to bash on the car that we all work on and love. If you have nothing but negative comments to say you should be banned from the forum by an admin. The infinity ain't my cup of tea and it's most likely not favored by any of us here on the forum. FYI the infinity is just a fancy nissan. German engineering reigns supreme to this day.

aspensilver540: You can only dream about driving a car like that, jealousy makes people do and say stupid and childish things. Btw that is still five time more expensive than your corroted ****ty old problematic bimma ! Just because you were once a king ( back then ) with a bmw doesnt you still are. If its a remorse of having your car and not affording any better then dont post such a bs about somebody elses car, or maybe but may be that your parents finally got 5 gees together and bought you that bigmoneywaste and you just on this forums solving what problems others have and there are plenty in fact thats what bimmer is all about . But if you had maybe like an m5 ( lots of respect ) perhaps you you make such a statment eventhough not really because that makes you asshole as a person ! Watch out cuz infiniti is breathing on bmw's back !!!

Maybe I'm the fortunate exception to maintenance costs. After one year ownership, my e34 540i has had 2 repairs: an outer tie rod end & the window switches in the console. Other issues are minor nuisances: driver's door check, OBC lights, fuel filler door hinge, and a broken arm rest. And 2 of these nuisances are well known typical e34 issues, with numerous DIY solutions already posted, for which appropriate inexpensive parts have been ordered.

i have a 2007 g35x so hopefully i can still give you some good feedback. the G is definetly lighter, feels alittle quicker, turns better and more reliable. the 540i has better low end torque, better seats, cabin noise is much less, and overall better engineered(then again MSRP of the 540i is double the G so its a given).

as DinnanBimmer said, if you were comparing an i30 to a 5er, its laughable comparison as the i30 is light years inferior to the 5er.

To those Infinity lovers, you should compare apples to apples.
That is the e39 is a model that has exited in 2003.
The upscale Infinity i30 that exited in 2003 is this here:

So if you guys compare now the Infinity i30 to ANY e39, you must be on crack.

To be honest, that actually looks better to me than the M45. Not an E39 but apparently infiniti's got fuglier as time went on. It's like in 2003 they were copying the E39 design, then somewhere they decided to copy the Altima instead.

The m45 that white E39 posted looks sooooo ugly. Then the rims scream "I'm trying really hard to make an infiniti look cool" but unfortunately the body styling is just ugly. It looks like an econobox, not a luxury sedan.

It has nothing to do with the logo, be it BMW or honda. Infiniti just doesn't have it, I'm sorry. They don't look good to me. They may be a nice car but I'd never drive one, just too ugly. White should go back to stock rims and realize his infiniti might be fun to drive but every driver yawns as it goes by unless he has those rims on the car, then they Laugh.

Split: not sure why you +1 considering you drive a 528. Guess you're saving up for an infiniti? Lol. Get off the board.

To be honest, that actually looks better to me than the M45. Not an E39 but apparently infiniti's got fuglier as time went on. It's like in 2003 they were copying the E39 design, then somewhere they decided to copy the Altima instead.

The m45 that white E39 posted looks sooooo ugly. Then the rims scream "I'm trying really hard to make an infiniti look cool" but unfortunately the body styling is just ugly. It looks like an econobox, not a luxury sedan.

It has nothing to do with the logo, be it BMW or honda. Infiniti just doesn't have it, I'm sorry. They don't look good to me. They may be a nice car but I'd never drive one, just too ugly. White should go back to stock rims and realize his infiniti might be fun to drive but every driver yawns as it goes by unless he has those rims on the car, then they Laugh.

Split: not sure why you +1 considering you drive a 528. Guess you're saving up for an infiniti? Lol. Get off the board.

Aspen. Yes, I own a 97 528i an 08 M35 Sport, 02 Altima 3.5, E36 M3, and a 05 G35 Coupe. Please, don't tell me to get off. I won't even argue with you, I think I know how these cars compare. Don't Believe me? I'll post pics if you like.

I can understand defending your car, but his post was a bunch driveling nonsense, barely coherent. I think you would have been better served defending your car/viewpoint in your own words, rather than +1ing someone that sounds so retarded. The way you write sounds intelligent, so perhaps we can get on a better foot and agree to disagree.

I drove a 2011 Nissan Altima 3.5 rental for a month while my car was in the shop after an accident (drunk driver rear ended me at stoplight). At first I liked the car, but by the end of the month I was sick of the car. The seat wasn't as comfortable. The steering wheel felt imprecise, more toyish. I was really glad to get my 540i back. It was a good car for a rental, just not for me. Maybe the seat doesn't hurt your back, maybe you don't care about the difference in handling.

Also, why do you own 5 cars? Just curious, got the bug or a lot of drivers?

I can understand defending your car, but his post was a bunch driveling nonsense, barely coherent. I think you would have been better served defending your car/viewpoint in your own words, rather than +1ing someone that sounds so retarded. The way you write sounds intelligent, so perhaps we can get on a better foot and agree to disagree.

I drove a 2011 Nissan Altima 3.5 rental for a month while my car was in the shop after an accident (drunk driver rear ended me at stoplight). At first I liked the car, but by the end of the month I was sick of the car. The seat wasn't as comfortable. The steering wheel felt imprecise, more toyish. I was really glad to get my 540i back. It was a good car for a rental, just not for me. Maybe the seat doesn't hurt your back, maybe you don't care about the difference in handling.

Also, why do you own 5 cars? Just curious, got the bug or a lot of drivers?

Aspen, these cars are between me and my brother. We split them, change up thru the weeks. Don't get me wrong. I looove BMW's, so much that we purchased the infiniti's as our daily drivers. The 528i is at 105k, the M3 at 205K. But for the amount of money spent to keep these bimmers up to par and functioning correctly was to much. I had to give them rest. I first purchased the Altima due positive 3.5 reviews, noted as one of the best engines made for reliability and performance. That car lasted me years without one problem except the annoying rattles. Then moved up to the M35 without rattles, same reliability. The bimmers are pampered and garaged.

Aspen, these cars are between me and my brother. We split them, change up thru the weeks. Don't get me wrong. I looove BMW's, so much that we purchased the infiniti's as our daily drivers. The 528i is at 105k, the M3 at 205K. But for the amount of money spent to keep these bimmers up to par and functioning correctly was to much. I had to give them rest. I first purchased the Altima due positive 3.5 reviews, noted as one of the best engines made for reliability and performance. That car lasted me years without one problem except the annoying rattles. Then moved up to the M35 without rattles, same reliability. The bimmers are pampered and garaged.

I understand having a second car, especially on an aging bmw -- I have one too. It's crappier than probably anything you could imagine owning but I got it for free -- '92 Honda Civic DX. It costs maybe $250 a year to run, and it is 20 years old (115K). But we're not comparing economy cars here, the infiniti is being compared directly to the E39 here, and I think we can agree it comes up short. The BMW costs more, but is a better car. Of course an economy car is cheaper to run, having a 2nd car is a great way to keep the miles lower on the E39 and cut some costs on gas/maintenance. No hate for that, just people who think their infiniti is some head-turner.

i have a 2007 g35x so hopefully i can still give you some good feedback. the G is definetly lighter, feels alittle quicker, turns better and more reliable. the 540i has better low end torque, better seats, cabin noise is much less, and overall better engineered(then again MSRP of the 540i is double the G so its a given).

as DinnanBimmer said, if you were comparing an i30 to a 5er, its laughable comparison as the i30 is light years inferior to the 5er.

Is your 540 an automatic? Because my 6-speed is quite a bit faster than my G35x was (then again, mine was a 2004). As for weight, they are virtually tied in the curb weight department, but, to me, the 540 "feels" lighter. The AWD just drags the G35 down, IMHO. I felt every pound in that car, especially when autocrossing. Wish I had gotten a RWD 6-speed. I might still have it in that case.

I understand having a second car, especially on an aging bmw -- I have one too. It's crappier than probably anything you could imagine owning but I got it for free -- '92 Honda Civic DX. It costs maybe $250 a year to run, and it is 20 years old (115K). But we're not comparing economy cars here, the infiniti is being compared directly to the E39 here, and I think we can agree it comes up short. The BMW costs more, but is a better car. Of course an economy car is cheaper to run, having a 2nd car is a great way to keep the miles lower on the E39 and cut some costs on gas/maintenance. No hate for that, just people who think their infiniti is some head-turner.

It's rare, ESP the 08 sports model. So far, I haven't seen this one other than the one in my driveway. Might be alot by you, but not in queens. I might not turn German auto lovers, but the import guys of sure. I own the best of both worlds and thankfully I can enjoy all types of cars.